The things that I have left out I need some input on.
1) Don't know what type of compression fittings I need.
2) What types of fans should I get? I am not against spending a premium for fans as long as it is warranted.

I will be using my Corsair Carbide Air 540 to fit all of this in. I understand that the 360mm will be a tight squeeze inside the front, so I will have to mount fans on the exterior.

If you feel like you can give me a better suggestion on the parts, please don't hesitate to suggest. I'd rather get input from seasoned veterans so in the future, I will know the best way!

1. I'd buy extruded acrylic tube from McMaster.com if you are going clear. Easier to bend and cheaper.

2. You may want to think about ditching the bay res for a tube res. I struggled with this too but that's the overwhelming preference here. Basically they are easier to work with.

3. Run two pumps to have a backup in case one fails.

4. The Raystorm is a good CPU block but is very bowed. Works well on your socket but it may not work as well on bigger sockets. Personally I like the EK Supremacy more which is also a bit bowed but perhaps not as much. The Koolance 380i is the performance king right now. Has no bowing issues with larger sockets to boot (IE Ivy Bridge Extreme and the upcoming Haswell Extreme).

5. Get dual D5 Vario pumps, they have 5 speed settings, are quiet and set and forget. You don't need fancy control options on a D5.

6. Decide on a fitting choice before picking out tube. Though your country will determine which tube is cheaper for you as there are too kinds... Metric vs Imperial... And it is the first or second question you should be asking. Personally I'd go for a compression style fitting which is Primochill Revolver (imperial), Monsoon Free Center Hard Lock (imperial), or Bitspower Enhanced Multi-Link (metric), Bitspower is my pick of the bunch as it has two O-Rings, one compression, one push-in. And they look nice and seem small. Note that Primochill fittings require less tube prep work on the edges but only have one O-Ring. They seem a but bigger too. Both are good choices. Monsoon has silver plated barbs but if that's ok for you they seem like a very secure design. Personally the silver is a deal breaker for me. I was going to get them but changed my mind. In the end there is no need for silver to be on the fittings so I'd rather not have it there. If I wanted silver I could add a kill coil say but these fittings take that choice away from you. I like my options to remain my options.

7. I'm in the process of updating some parts this weekend but I keep a good list going in my drop down signature rig.

8. I'm a fan of GT AP-15 or GT AP-14 fans. So is half the internet. But there are other choices especially if it's not being used as a rad fan. Try to choose a fan with a non sleeve bearing that has decent to great static pressure (rad restriction isn't the only source of fan restriction), low noise, high performance, long service life, that works well in all positions horizontal and vertical, and one that good looks if possible.Edited by Neo Zuko - 4/6/14 at 2:53pm

1. I'd buy extruded arctic tube from McMaster.com if you are going clear. Easier to bend and cheaper.

2. You may want to think about ditching the bay res for a tube res. I struggled with this too but that's the overwhelming preference here. Basically they are easier to work with.

3. Run two pumps to have a backup in case one fails.

4. The Raystorm is a good CPU block but is very bowed. Works well on your socket but it may not work as well on bigger sockets. Personally I like the EK Supremacy more which is also a bit bowed but perhaps not as much. The Koolance 380i is the performance king right now. Has no bowing issues with larger sockets to boot (IE Ivy Bridge Extreme and the upcoming Haswell Extreme).

5. Get dual D5 Vario pumps, they have 5 speed settings, are quiet and set and forget. You don't need fancy control options on a D5.

6. Decide on a fitting choice before picking out tube. Though your country will determine which tube is cheaper for you as there are too kinds... Metric vs Imperial... And it is the first or second question you should be asking. Personally I'd go for a compression style fitting which is Primochill Revolver (imperial), Monsoon Free Center Hard Lock (imperial), or Bitspower Enhanced Multi-Link (metric), Bitspower is my pick of the bunch as it has two O-Rings, one compression, one push-in. And they look nice and seem small. Note that Primochill fittings require less tube prep work on the edges but only have one O-Ring. They seem a but bigger too. Both are good choices. Monsoon has silver plated barbs but if that's ok for you they seem like a very secure design. Personally the silver is a deal breaker for me. I was going to get them but changed my mind. In the end there is no need for silver to be on the fittings so I'd rather not have it there. If I wanted silver I could add a kill coil say but these fittings take that choice away from you. I like my options to remain my options.

7. I'm in the process of updating some parts this weekend but I keep a good list going in my drop down signature rig.

8. I'm a fan of GT AP-15 or GT AP-14 fans. So is half the internet. But there are other choices especially if it's not being used as a rad fan. Try to choose a fan with a non sleeve bearing that has decent to great static pressure (rad restriction isn't the only source of fan restriction), low noise, high performance, long service life, that works well in all positions horizontal and vertical, and one that good looks if possible.

1. The reason I chose the acrylic tubing is because of the style of the tubing. I really dig the sharp angles you can achieve. Though, if you can recommend me one tubing in particular I will certainly look into it.
2. I was debating this as well. The reason I thought of doing a reservoir/pump combo was simply saving space in the case. If I could do the job with one item, rather than two, is that not efficient, you know? Though, I do like the look of the tube res. I looked around for some different tube reservoirs. All I could really find were Photon tube reservoirs. Could you possibly recommend one to me that would offer optimal performance but stay relatively quiet?
3. This is an interesting idea. Obviously, this is smart but I question if I have the space to do so. The side of the Air that houses the mobo, gpu, etc can hold a tube reservoir, maybe two. But I would probably have to put the pump in the back of the case that has the power supply. I will definitely give this more thought.
4. This one? http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=36055
Personally dig the look of this better than the Raystorm and the review I read of the performance is better to boot. I will change that, thank you.
5. Honestly a bit confused on which you would recommend. I'm also a bit wary of the size of the pumps. Can you give me a link to your preference?
6. The PrimoChill look very sleek and I do say I prefer the look of them. I guess it depends as well the size of the tubing I will use. I will leave my decision open until you or others can give me recommendations of tubing, of course.
8. GT AP-14 seem to get the best ratings in terms of cooling and sound. Look into those.

I am recommending acrylic tube, just that auto correct on my iPhone messed it up. First you need to pick what kind of fittings you want.

Keep in mind that certain tube res perform better than others if you use it with the pump attached (replacing the pump top). If you don't attach it directly, you can run a bit of tube to it and not lose pump top performance. I like the EK X3 for attached directly to the pump and for less expensive and Aqualis XT for the high end running separate option. The Photon is cool but it you take it apart for cleaning you invalidate the warranty, a major con in my book. They don't trust their design enough I suppose, leaking after reassembling might be an issue.

EK D5 Vario pump is good. They are mostly all the same, just rebadged. You should be ok on the size, I've seen many creative mounts in the past. Stick it anywhere you can. Just make sure to put the res before the pump, never run it dry as it will break fast. EK makes a dual D5 pump top with a res adapter if you like. You can have the res and two pumps as compact as it gets. If you want more room beyond that I would get a bigger case.

Take a minute and think it threw. Take a night. I've changed my parts so many times. Research and reading will do that to you.

Also, I'm not sure if you considered the Rad Fin density. What are your goals? Silence? Performance? Balance?

I have considered how thick the rads will be. For starters, I know that I will have to mount fans on the outside of the case on the front to fit. I believe I can fit the fans on the inside on the 240 on top, however.
And as my goals, I would prefer silence and performance.

Just know that the higher the fin density, the worse the noise might be. Also, EK makes a rad just like the XSPC ones. They just came out and are kinda popular. Not sure which is better really. I stay away from fin density that high as silence is key to my HTPC goals. I like Black Ice SR-1s and the upcoming Nemesis. However even I might get those AX or EK PE ones as they look cool and you can compensate a bit with sheer rad quantity. But Black Ice should be better for my needs as they are built for silence but are a bit thicker overall with thinner fin density. But I don't want to sound like I'm pushing all my fav brands. A lot of this is personal preference.

No need to apologize! I trust your opinions and respect your favorites. You have been a great help so far.
Now, the Black Ice SR-1s / Nemesis, are they optimal in terms of performance? I also plan to grab a 1000w P2 to replace my 750w and want to push the Classy as far as I can and play with it around 1.3v daily. Are they quiet and provide great performance?

That's tough to answer. Keep in mind that I've read a lot, but I've never actually watercooled. That said, I've read more than my share on the subject. Besides the thickness of the rad and the fin density, it also depends on your loop, number of blocks, and the amount of rads too, which will determine just how slow you can run the fans. There are three types of rads for the most part. Thin rads that make up for the thinness with extra fins, thick rads that have less fins for silence but can't scale up as good, and thick rads with medium density that have good performance over a wide range. Of course there are the monster thickness ones, and the thick rads with dense fins, but for the most part that's it. As you can see there are many variables that affect everything else.

Black Ice SR-1s and Nemesis rads are built for low spinning fans and silence with decent but not perfect scale-ability. They may not perform as well as some rads over every range, but they are silent about it. Then you can add more rads to cool more blocks better. No question the Black Ice Nemesis rads will be quieter than the XSPC AX rads if all is equal. At least to a point. If I had ten AX rads I'm sure it would not matter either way and I would not have to spin up my fans as much to matter. Plus your choice on fans will also directly impact the sound and performance. AX rads are thin with high fin density so they are not the best silent running rad out there and there are better balanced rads. But if looks and space saving features is what you want and some noise is ok, they are perfect. Something like the UT60 is more balanced than all of these. But Black Ice has the build quality a notch higher and I like silence. So I'm a Black Ice fan.

But keep in mind I'm the Padawan Learner and not the Jedi Master on watercooling. But I'm a damn good Padawan Edited by Neo Zuko - 4/6/14 at 5:12pm